George Washington Flowers 
 Memorial Collection 
 
 DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 ESTABLISHED BY THE 
 FAMILY OF 
 COLONEL FLOWERS 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2015 
 
 https://archive.org/details/inauguraladdressOOgerh 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS 
 
 DELIVERED IN 
 
 CABARRUS COUNTY, N. C. 
 REV. W. GERMRDT, 
 
 AT 
 
 HIS INAUGURATION AS PRINCIPAL OF " WESTERN CAROLINA 
 MALE ACADEMY," LOCATED AT MOUNT PLEAS- 
 ANT CABARRUS COUNTY, N. C. 
 
 CONCORD, N C. 
 
 PRINTED BY J. M. HENDERSON. 
 
 1856. 
 
9 
 
i 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS 
 
 DELIVERED IN 
 
 RlfNIHT PLEASANT, 
 
 CABARRUS COUNTY, E C. 
 BY 
 
 REV. W. GERHARDT, 
 
 AT 
 
 HIS INAUGURATION AS PRINCIPAL OF " WESTERN: CAROLINA 
 3&ALE ACADEMY " LOCATED AT MOUNT PLEAS- 
 ANT CABARRUS COUNTY, N. C, 
 
 COXCORD, !¥.,€. 
 
 PRINTED BY J. M. HEADERS OX* 
 1855. 
 
Mount Pleasant, August 2.4th, 1855. 
 
 Sky. William Gerhardt, 
 
 Bear Sir : — The undersigned have been appointed a Committee by the 
 Board of Directors of " Western Carolina Male Academy," to request for pub- 
 lication, a copy of the Address delivered by you, at your late inauguration 
 as Principal in said Institution. Your compliance will oblige, Yours, &c. 
 
 JOHN D. SCHECK, ) 
 
 JOHN SHIM-POCK, \ Committee, 
 
 M. BARRIER. 
 
 ■o— 
 
 Mount Pleasant, N. C, Aug. 29th, 1855. 
 
 Gentlemen: — In compliance with your request, I herewith furnish yon 
 with a copy of my Inaugural Address. I regret that want of time, ill health, 
 and the performance of other duties, have prevented me from devoting to its 
 preparation, the attention necessary to make it meet the expectations of the 
 community. 
 
 The only merit 1 claim is, the sincere desire on my part, to advance the 
 interests of the Institution, over which you Lave called me to preside. 
 I am, Gentlemen, Yours, respectfullv and truly, 
 
 WM. GERHARDT. 
 
 John D. Scheck, ) 
 
 John Shlmpock, > Committee. 
 
 M. Barrier. \ 
 
THE FLOWERS COUJECTKHl 
 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 GEXTEERIEN OF THE BOAR© OF DIRECTORS: 
 
 A few weeks ago you passed a resolution, making it mv duty to delivar 
 an Address on the day of my inauguration as First Professor of" Western 
 Carolina Male Academy." I now stand before you to perform that duty. 
 But, before J do this, permit me, in justice to myself, to state, that, owing to 
 the short time allowed me, and the various other duties devolving upon me, 
 during that time, I have had but a few days left to prepare myself for the 
 performance of the task assigned me, on this occasion. If, therefore, I am 
 compelled to draw the more laigely upon other resources, I urge the want 
 of time as the only apology. 
 
 Called from the retirement of a country pastorate, to take charge of and 
 preside over the Institution which has been originated, planted, and thus far 
 successfully reared by your laudable efforts, you may be assured that I am 
 by no means indifferent, either to the honor thus conferred, or the duties and 
 responsibilities thus imposed, in raising me to the position which I now oc- 
 cupy. And, while I enter upon the position with diffidence, and under no 
 small degree of embarrassment, for fear of disappointing your expectations, 
 I am nevertheless encouraged by the confidence you have reposed in me in 
 electing one who did not seek the position, and who is a stranger to the ma- 
 jority of that eclesiastical body, under whose direction and auspices the In- 
 stitution has been reared. And when I review the circumstances which have 
 combined to place me before you as first Professor of this newly organized 
 Institution, I think I can plainly see the direction of Providence in this mo- 
 mentous matter and this has give course and color to my line of duty. — 
 "With this assurance, Gentlemen, I can the more freely and confidently enter 
 upon this important and responsible position. And presuming npon your 
 kind and ready co-operation, it shall be my aim and my highest ambition, 
 in the' discharge of my duty, to serve the cause of education, and the cause- 
 of the Church. 
 
 The planting of " Western Carolina Academy," in this comparatively 
 remote part of our Lutheran territory, is certainly indicative of an increased! 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 interest in our Church, of elevating the standard of education, both in the 
 different learned professions and the various minor departments of secular 
 business ; in other words— to open and afford facilities for general and uni- 
 versal intelligence. 
 
 We trust, therefore, that you Trill be able to mark this as an epoch, from 
 which you shall date much of the prosperity, much of the respectability, — 
 and much of the public character, not only of the Church, but also of the 
 State, in whose bounds your Institution is located. We trust, that while the 
 influence of the Institution, in common with that of others of a kindred 
 character, will promote the objects of literature and science, it will, at the 
 same time, also make a sensible impression upon the moral's ot soeiet} T , and 
 exert a powerful and salutary influence upon the Church. This, I presume-, 
 is the avowed object of the founders and patrons of this enterprise. Let ne, 
 therefore, call your attention on the present occasion to the necessity of mm- 
 bluing intellectual development and moral culture for usefulness in fofe. 
 
 This may seem rather a trite subject to those who are fond of novelty, but 
 if it is trite, it is not the less important ; for, no subject within the range of 
 human action, deserves a larger share of public attention, than rational and 
 moral education. It is the sure basis of every active virtue. It is the pro- 
 lific soil from which spring the graces, as well as the solid enjoyments of 
 mental existence. In whatever position man may be placed — whatever his 
 fortune or destiny may be, a liberal education, including sound moral in- 
 struction, is a guiding star in his pilgrimage ot life, enlightening his path- 
 way, elevating his character, qualifying him for usefulness, while it enables 
 him to conquer adversity, to alleviate misfortune, to communicate 'knowledge, 
 and to enjoy pleasure unmixed with the vices of the world. It is conceded 
 by all, I presume, that health and grofyth are promoted by exercise, and that 
 the development of the physical powers is indispensable to the mechanical 
 purposes of life : even so the intellectual and moral faculties must be drawn 
 out, exercised and developed, to answer the designs of our Creator. 
 
 In the organization of the human frame, every limb has its appropriate use, 
 and the well-being of the whole depends upon a due exercise of its parts. — 
 And that system of gymnastics most ever be regarded the best, which pro- 
 motes the strength and activity of the several members of the body. In like 
 manner the mind is endowed with a number of faculties, with their appro- 
 priate spheres of action ; and that exercise is best calculated todevelope, to 
 strengthen, enoble, improve and beautify it, which brings into healthy and 
 vigorous play, all its diversified powers. " I consider," says Addison, a hu- 
 m an soul without education, like a marble in the quarry ; which shows none 
 of its inherent beauties, until the skill? of the polisher fetches out the colors, 
 makes the surface shine, and discovers every ornamental cloud, spot and vein 
 tbat runs through the body of it. Education, after the same manner, when 
 it works upon a noble mind, draws out to view every latent virtue and per- 
 fection, which, without such helps, are never able to make their appearance." 
 
 With vegetables and the lower order of animals it is different. They re- 
 quire no particular training — no special attention, (or at least comparatively 
 little,) for that small degree of development of which they are susceptible. 
 God has impressed upon them laws and given them instincts, and these are 
 the only principles necessary to impel them onward to the completion of the 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 7 
 
 >end of their being. Neither of them can be radically changed or material- 
 ly improved by training. The oak shoots up from the acorn, and, shaken 
 by a thousand storms, it thrives uncared for, reaches its maturity, and proud- 
 ly stands, the monarch of the woods. The lion, issuing from some mountain 
 cavern, which was his birth-place, thrown at once untaught an? unprotect- 
 ed upon his own resources, still lives and reigns king of animals. 
 
 Not so with man. His faculties require development — his pas3;ons, con- 
 trol — the deep resources of his nature, the warmth of culture to bring them 
 to light. Man comes into the world helpless, but with a mind and soul :— 
 a mind capable of the highest degree of expansion and improvement, a soul 
 capable of eternal aprroximation to, but yet infinite distance from Deity.-— 
 To unfold man's nature — to draw out his powers, devel ope and expose them 
 is the proper business of education. 
 
 Here we must be excused for referring to and exposing a common but se- 
 rious error upon the subject : an error which has been a great barrier to the 
 proper development of the mind. I mean the filling up and cramming 
 process, a practice which has thrown upon the world hundreds and thousands 
 of superficialists and ignoramuses. Many parents on entrusting their chil- 
 dren into the hands of the teacher inform him, or at least intimate, that they 
 wish them to have so much knowledge communicated to them, say of Gram- 
 mar, Arithmetic, Latin, &c. They send their children to school as they do 
 to the merchant, to get so much, as though knowledge, like cloth could be 
 measured by yard-sticks, or tunneled into them like molasses into a jug ! — 
 The teacher, perhaps, happens to be one. who has been taught in the same 
 manner, and so greatly reveres that practice of his teacher and his teacher's- 
 le ichev, that he would consider it almost a crime, or at least an insult to 
 the memory of his predecessor to abnndon a practice wdiich has so eminent- 
 ly qualified him for his position. lie has provided himself with a stock of 
 th e saleable branches, and is ready to supply all orders in his line. He re- 
 gards his pupils as the druggist does his vials. He takes their minds, one 
 by one, and pours in from his larger vessel, of the required material, as 
 though it were some valuable oil, and carefully corks it up, fearing lest the 
 motion should spill the precious article. The parents, upon leceiving their 
 children, act upon the same principle, and examine the child's head, to see 
 if it be full ! Pupils, too, are thus taught to regard education as a process 
 of filling up. Consequently, many of them go into a school room, as they 
 would into a prison, expecting to have their minds confined, and handled, and 
 filled up and shook down. 
 
 Now the truth is that education is but following out nature, instead of 
 confining and crossing her. We repeat, it consists in leading out the mind. 
 To accomplish this, everything — even external arrangements — should com- 
 bine to attract, to excite, to suggest, to encourage, to delight and to satisfy. 
 The school-room should be an enchanting spot, and the pupil should enter 
 it as the candidate for the prize, entered the Olympic games, or as the unre- 
 strained Indian engages in the gigantic pastimes of the wilderness. It is the 
 area for mental sport and mental struggle, with a view to mental develop- 
 ment. Seucippus, an ancient teacher, acted upon this principle. He direc- 
 ted pictures of joy and gladness to be hung around his school-room, to rea- 
 der it attractive to his pupils, and to invite rather than to force them to 
 
3 
 
 INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 study. Everything should be invested with interest, so that the student wil 
 not look upon study as a burdensome task, but a well-spring of enjoy 
 ment. Thus should the intellectual powers be developed, disciplined am 
 strengthened. This is the primaiy object in reference to all the branches o 
 useful knowledge, and thus alone can they be made available to the practi 
 cal purposes of life. 
 
 Such is the nature of mind that it needs encouragement and attention.— 
 it needs a genial soil. It needs a kind hand to aid it in fastening its feelin 
 tendrils higher, so as thereby to aid itself in rising to light and freed om.- 
 And such is its expansive nature, and such its elasticity and power of distei 
 sion, that each acquisition, instead of contributing to fill its capacity, onl 
 serves to enlarge it. " Look at the history of a single seed. What a worl 
 of mystery lies concealed in its bosom ! Lay it in the soft warm bosom of 
 the earth, and then wait for wonders ! Gradually its hidden life begins to 
 travail and struggle earnestly toward a manifestation. Its bosom begins to 
 swell, — the fibres of its warm and glowing heart reach forth and lav hold of 
 the surrounding earth — the germ begins to creep upward to seek the light, 
 and soon we behold the plant, the flower, the fruit. Suppose even its posi- 
 tion in the earth to be of the most unfavorable kind — suppose it covered 
 with clods and stones, the germ creeps hither and thither, till it finds an av- 
 enue by which it may emerge from its dark captivity and smile in the sun. 
 Such is the plastic energy of a thing that lives." 
 
 " A raven once an acorn took, 
 
 From Bashau's tallest tree ; 
 He lai 1 it down beside a brook, 
 
 And lived an oak to see ." 
 
 The seed is a symbol of the mind. There is a life of mind, as well as a life of 
 vegetation ; but it is of an infinitely higher order, and unbosoms an energy 
 capable of the most wonderful manifestations. Need I repeat, then, that it 
 needs and deserves encouragement and attention ? True, it has great na- 
 tive force, but it needs a gentle hand to give it direction, and to fasten it up- 
 on objects that are noble and good. 
 
 Now the human mind is progressive, and its development must begin ear- 
 ly — and it should be life-long. Youth is the season for preparation for the 
 active duties of existence. The years of infancy and youth are not to be ex- 
 clusively occupied in the evolution of the physical powers only, but also in 
 educing those mental capacities of which nature has deposited the germ. — 
 This, however, falls more appropriately within the province of the family, — 
 and the primary or common schools. It is reserved for academical and col- 
 legiate institutions to continue this development, and to discipline the mind 
 preparatory to entering upon the studies of a profession. "The mind must 
 be prepared by elementary training and gradual approaches, for the recep- 
 tion of that varied and immeasurable fund of knowledge, which the more 
 matured intellect is alone capable of grasping. It must receive such a di- 
 rection as to its nascent propensities, as will, in after life, secure a devotion 
 to good purposes, leaving their accumulation for riper years." 
 
 In infancy and childhood, the foundation is laid — in youth the superstruc- 
 ture is reared, and in manhood the intellectual edifice is filled with every 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 article of furniture necessary to answer all the practical purposes of life, in 
 relation to man, in relation to God, and in relation to ourselves. Neglect 
 to lay a solid and durable foundation, in vain will you afterwards strive to 
 rear a substantial and harmonious edifice. "• We may profusely decorate it 
 with tinsel or barbaric gold, but devoid of symmetry or relation, it will only 
 resemble one of those incongruous and ill-assorted piles which the traveller 
 sometimes meets with, in which all proportion is confounded, and all the or- 
 ders of architecture blended." 
 
 True, there are examples cn record of men having become learned and 
 great, by commencing their literary career at a comparatively advanced pe- 
 riod of life ; but such instances are very rare, and form only exceptions to the 
 general rule. There are few Nevvtons, whose minds are so great and grasp- 
 ing by nature us to supersede the necessity of studying Euclid. The few ex- 
 ceptions-' on record do not warrant us in the least, in passing the spring-time 
 of life in inglorious ease ; nor do they at all justify us in indolently sitting 
 down and looking for lucky chance, or some favored hour of inspiration, to 
 baptise us with all knowledge, and crown us with literary celebrity, profess- 
 ional renown or political fame. The storm-torrent that comes tumbling 
 •down the steep and rugged hill-side, roaring with the uoise of thunder and 
 scattering the spray on the surrounding woods, is soon exhausted, and the 
 ■channel left dry and dusty. But the little rill that issues from a well or fountain, 
 flows on gently and steadily, purling at first through verdant vales, and gradu- 
 ally becoming deeper and wider by receiving tributaries. Then meandering 
 along,it noiselessly discharges itself into a wide lake,which is always kept fresh 
 and full by its slow but constant and uniform supply. So the mmd, unde- 
 veloped, undisciplined, may, in the hour of strong excitement or fanatical 
 zeal, tickle the ear, dazzle the eye, enchain the attention, arouse the passions, 
 and elicit admiration and applause ; but, for lack of resources — for lack of 
 proper fuel to sustain the momentary flame, its intellectual nudity and bar- 
 renness are completely exposed. But the mind that has been carefully, sys- 
 tematically and thoroughly trained, whosvi faculties have become developed 
 and thus been made fit receptacles for substantial knowledge, is always fertile 
 in resources, in any and every emergenc\', and amply supplied with the 
 means and strength necessary to carry out every useful project ; while its 
 weight and influence will be steady, constant and uniform. 
 
 Although our facilities have been multiplied unto us in these latter day?, 
 particularly in the glorious nineteenth century : although the acquisition of 
 useful knowledge has been made comparatively easy, yet application — and 
 close application — is necessary. Although there have been inventions and 
 discoveries in «very branch of knowledge, and improvements without end in 
 every department of the arts and sciences, still the mind must undergo reg-» 
 ular and systematic training, — still the "hill of science" is steep and rugged, 
 and, with all the ingenuity of Young America in this present, progressive, 
 advancing and wonder working age, no genius has yet been found or heard 
 of, so fertile in invention, or so successful in experiments, as to convert the 
 steep ascent into an inclined plane, to carry up the student by machinery, 
 while he sits ingloriously iu his car of ease and indolence ! 
 
 No, sirs ! Education is something that is personal, — it i3 reflexive, if I 
 may be allowed the expression. The development of the mind requires in- 
 
10 
 
 INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 dividual effort — individual application and energy. AVe are aware tbat the 
 drudgery of a thorough mental training is to some intolerable. Everything 
 is to be done and accomplished in a hurry, and in maTiy instances there is 
 more speed than wisdom. "We want practical men,' 1 says the restless spir- 
 it of this progressi ve age, — " men who can buy imd sell and speculate ; men 
 in (he pulpit who have quick perceptions and ready speech. Scholastic lore 
 is nonsense ; Greek and Latin are a tax npon time, and the higher Mathe- 
 matics are asleep." But we contend, and every intelligent, sober and cal- 
 culating man, who views this matter from a proper point, will agree with 
 us, that no age ever demanded the more thorough mental training of those 
 who are to take the lead in the nation, than the present. 
 
 It is, alas ! "oo true, that while time has become more plenty, through time- 
 saving inventions : and, while our facilities for the acquisition of knowledge 
 have been increased, there has also been a corresponding increase of world- 
 liness, fondness for amusements, and other trifles. The tide of things, like 
 a stream, is becoming shallower as it grows broader. It must be evident to 
 every reflecting mind, that the tendency of things is to superficiality, both in 
 a literary and moral point of view. Because the work of providing for the 
 body and getting rich is easily done, men set down to eat and lise to> play. 
 A novel, a circus, a dance or a glass of ale, seems to be relished more than 
 the waters of Castilia ; and, the fumes of a ' prineipe " more r^g-afing, than 
 the purest air on the " hill of science, 1 ' and, any of these is better adapted to 
 rock the faculties asleep than the keen electric animations of science. See 
 the loafer ! whether upon the store box, upon the bench before the bar-room 
 or upon the sofa, how he loves his inglorious ease. " Science ! " he exclaims, 
 " can a man eat it ? Can a man drink it ? Will it make a man laugh ? 
 What then is science ?" And back he falls again, into his original dozings 
 as if ke had been shot at with a poppy ! 
 
 Wo repeat, then, that education is personal — it must be acquired — it can- 
 not be inherited. And it can only be acquired by close and continued ap- 
 plication. One cannot study for another any more than eat for him. Men- 
 tal development is but the fruit of mental labor. How important, then, to 
 enlist the energies of the mind in this labor while in the spring-time of life. 
 Youth is the rich, soft, moist meadow ground of life, out of which the stream 
 of life issues, and the course it then takes, it is apt to keep. Now then, or 
 never ! Few rivers are turned into a new channel, when once they sweep 
 along in the full tide of their strength ; and equally few human beings turn 
 into anew course, when once the strong current of middle life is bearing 
 them on towards their destiny. Youth, then, is the time to form high pur- 
 poses and to set out for high ends. And that young man who is willing to 
 submit to the labor and self denial involved in the pursuit of useful kuowi- 
 edge^ may be sure of final success. 
 
 " Let us then be up and doing, 
 
 With a heart For any fate ; 
 Still achieving, still pursuing, 
 
 Learn to labor and to wait." 
 
 At this period, however, hidden dangers lurk in the arbors where the most 
 inviting flowers grow. Evil society opens its unclean embrace. To all the 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 11 
 
 senses existing evil presents some of its defilements. To the eye appear the 
 pride and vanity of life — to the ear the whispers of unbelief and the siren se- 
 ducements of forbidden pleasure. Passion is strong", hope is active, the 
 judgment restless and impatient of restraint, and the balhuice is hanging in 
 fearful poise between weal and woe — between glory and degradation. Here 
 is the day of trial, and I need not say that thousands fail to pass safely, the 
 dreadful crisis. And why ? Because thenar* which is "deceitful above all 
 things and desperately wicked," has been neglected and left uncultivated. 
 Because while they may have made much progress in the pursuit of intellec- 
 tual knowledge, and bid fair to become literary stars, they neglected that 
 which is the only safe-guard of man — moral culture. 
 
 True, a love for books — a love for the high pursuits of science, can do 
 much to aid the student in avoiding the path of idle and low profligaev. It 
 will afford him employment, company and a taste for higher enjovments, — 
 than those of sense and vanity, and above all, fit him for a life of usefulness 
 and honor. But, after all, nothing but true Religion can effectually secure 
 the student against the defilements of vice, and sanctify and hallow his lite* 
 rary pursuits and acquirements to his own happiness, to tne well being of 
 his fellow man and the glory of God. 
 
 Were man's existence limited to this world, (as some in their madness 
 would have it.) then it would matter but little how he would spend his life, 
 for then everything would close and end with him in death. But both wis- 
 dom and revelation combine to prove the immortality of man's existence : 
 the soul does not expect to die with the body. 
 
 " The human soul is like the vestal's fire, 
 Lit with a flame that never must expire." 
 
 Man has been created with a view to eternity. LTis destiny is thitherward r 
 and a correspondent course of training is necessary to fit him for that state, 
 To euable man, then, to fulfil the designs of his Creator, moral culture must 
 le combined with intellectual development. 
 
 "We are aware that to some, this is an unpopular doctrine — unpopular, 
 because unsavoiy. There is a strong tendency to separate intellectual and 
 moral education, a leaning to materialism that cannot but prove detrimental 
 to the best interests of our Republic. '''Education! education! is the 
 watchword of all parties, and is ever on the tongues of the political mounte- 
 banks, who agitate the community to obtain the smiles and support of an 
 honest, though vain and credulous community. How often are we not told 
 that intelligence is the main pillar of our great political fabric, and that this 
 is all that is necessary to secure the perpetuity of our free institutions !" True, 
 tliis- is necessary and desirable to promote the happiness of the social man, but 
 it requires a corresponding cultivation aud expansion of the heart for the ul- 
 timate happiness of the immortal man. 
 
 The heart is the seat of the moving power. It is to the man what the pi- 
 lot is to the vessel— it gives him his direction. The intellectual faculties are 
 the mere machinery, and though of the utmost importance, how insignifi- 
 cant when compared with the noble powers of the soul. How vain is the 
 hope of the world's perfection by means of purely intellectual education ! — 
 Let intellectual knowledge diffuse its rays to the ends of the world, -unhallow- 
 
12 
 
 INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 ed and unrefined by moral culture, still sensuality, avarice, ambition, jeal- 
 ousy, vanity, pride and unbelief will exist, Nay, they will live, and act too, 
 in a wider field, with a keener eye, with a deeper wisdom, with a more re- 
 fined art, and work out with more terrific enginery, their damning- and deso- 
 lating effects. Is it unwise : is it dangerous to put a sword in the hands of 
 a madman ? Even so it is unwise and dangerous to separate mental and 
 moral training, and to bestow the former alone upon an object in whoso 
 heart all the wicked passions are in full and fcarful play. Thus the powers 
 of the human mind may be perverted to blight and destroy : they may be 
 distorted to waste and devastate a Continent, enslave and debase a people, — 
 corrupt and vitiate a -vhole community. " Knowledge is indeed power ; but 
 it has power to do evil as well as good — to kill as well as make alive. The 
 educated rogue or skeptic is a dangerous man. Extraordinary intellectual 
 strength, sometimes, it is to be regretted, defies restraint, and spreads dismay 
 over those srsiling regions it was designed to fertilize and bless." Though 
 the ancient sages were learned, yet what *was the character, after all, of their 
 morality — their Religion ? Let us search their caves and groves, their pub- 
 lie highways and their private walks, and the result of our investigation will 
 coroborate our doctrine. They taught what they did not practice. Their 
 wisdom served but to refine their depravity aud conceal its workings. The 
 fountains of iniquity were calmer, but they were on that account, more pro- 
 found ; the stream flowed in narrower but deeper channels. There is no 
 room for skepticism on this subjeet ; for the question as to the absolute ne- 
 cessity of moral culture, to refine and hallow intellectual acquisitions and re- 
 searches, and to fit man for the fulfilment of the designs of his creation, has 
 long since been established and settled. The greatest lights of every age 
 bear testimony to the correctness of our position, from the present back to 
 the time of Aristotle. Locke, the most distinguished of modern metaphysi- 
 cians, says : " I place virtue as the first and most necessary of those endow- 
 ments which belong to man." Lord Karnes says : " It appears unaccount- 
 able that our teachers generally have directed their instructions to the head 
 with so little attention to the heart." " The end of learning," says Milton, 
 " is to repair the ruin of our first parents, by regaining a right knowledge of 
 God, and out of that knowledge, to love him, to imitate him, to belike him, 
 as we may the nearest, by possessing ourselves of true virtue, which, united 
 to the heavenly gift of faith, makes up the highest perfection." 
 
 It is to be deplored, that in this utilitarian age, the parents, the public and 
 prirate instructors of ihe youth of our country, are so little concerned for the 
 development of the moral feelings and the better affections of those entrust- 
 ed to their care. Thjir greatest solicitude seems to be, to cultivate those fac 
 ulties only, which, in the language of the day, will enable their possessor to 
 make a figure in the world ! Are the promptings of the youthful heart and 
 the buddings of the infant soul, watched with the same degree of solicitude, 
 and are the young accustomed to hear the same mead of praise bestowed up- 
 on acts of exalted benevolence and rare goodness, which is generally award- 
 ed to those that indicate mere mental superiority ? Alas ! no. Instead of 
 the young being taught to render themselves respected and happy, by con- 
 tributing to the happiness of others, most frequently the first principles imbi- 
 bed are those of selfishness, which but too soon becomes the ruling passion 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 13 
 
 of the soul — the polar star of man's actions. Such are the practices of ma- 
 ny of those who stand out as beacons to the youthful mariners. Thus hu- 
 man accountability seems to be almost entirely lost sight of and forgotten, 
 amid the pursuits of avarice and ambition. 
 
 u What God has joined together, let no man put asunder," is an injunc- 
 tion ihat applies to moral and intellectual training, as well as to the marriage 
 institution. Mental discipline and moral culture, ought always to go hand 
 in hand, and in no instance ought the former be permitted to outstrip the 
 latter. The mental powers and moral feelings should always be kept side by 
 by side in advancing the possessor to the dignity and stature of intellectual 
 and moral manhood. This law is coiled around our very being, and wo to 
 him who endeavors to shake it off. The proper business of education, then, 
 is to cement the union of man's intellectual and moral nature, not to divide 
 it. Let the waters of intellectual education be brought to the door of every 
 individual, and let each be invited to drink and drink freely, still he will not 
 he cannot be satisfied, until he drinks of that river, " the streams whereof 
 shall mnke glad the city of God." Unless the moral feelings are drawn 
 forth and made to assume their legitimate supremacy ; unless the conscience 
 is watered by the dews of moral purity, the stream will only carry him into 
 the ocean of eternal death. jSTo matter how intelligent a community may 
 be, if that more substantial ingredient of social happiness — virtue, be want- 
 ing, it will stand upon a sandy foundation, and its downfall will sooner or 
 later ensue. 
 
 It is only the indwelling of unfaltering integrity of purpose, combined with 
 intelligence, that can protect the many from the usurpations of a few. It is 
 only when man is made to feel, that knowledge is alone desirable as better 
 enabling him to fill the station assigned him as a moral agent, that he is 
 fecure against the interested and ambitious of his race. It is only when the 
 mind is treated as the hand-maid of conscience, and taught habitual obedi- 
 ence to her mandate, that man can be said to occupy and improve those tal- 
 lents which have been entrusted to him. 
 
 Many examples might be adduced in defence of our proposition. Look at 
 Voltaire : this infidel had, perhaps, not a superior in his age, in genius, attain- 
 ment and industry; yet what did he accomplish ? To what useful purposes 
 were the powers of his mind ever directed ? What treasures did he lay up 
 for himself either in this life or the life to come ? His genius kindled only 
 to wither and consume. His work was to infuse poison and death into the 
 atmosphere around him. Look at Byron : he was so richly favored, and 
 might have sung in strains as pure and as full of sweet benevolence as the 
 author of " The Task," and been an instrument of much good to his [fellow- 
 men ; yet, destitute of moial principle, he is blown about like a skiff in a 
 storm, without chart or compass, anchorage or helm, attempting to gild 
 his monstrous vices with the meritricious ornaments of an extraordinary but 
 depraved genius. Look at Gibbon, and Hume, and Bolingbroke, and La 
 Place : they either became the advocates of a blind and mechanical atheism 7 
 or employed their unrivaled powers in advancing cheerless skepticism and 
 defaming the champions of Christianity. 
 
 " Talents, angel-bright, 
 If wanting worth are shining ornaments 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 In false ambition's hand, to finish faults 
 Illustrious,, and give infamy renown." 
 
 But let us come nearer home, ai d let us briefly consider the characters of 
 two individuals of our own country, as examples in point. I have iu mv 
 mind's eye, a man massive, piercing and towering in intellect ; vast and 
 brilliant iu intellectual powers and attainment; brave and daringin the field, 
 dazzling, in the cabinet: for versatility of genius, and loftiness of acquire- 
 ments in literature and science, second to none in the young Republic. For 
 a time his course is steadily onward and upward, and' for the while lie bids 
 fair to assume an eminent position in the rank of those sages and patriots 
 with whom he has the honor to co-operate. *' The honors of the camp, the 
 bar and the legislative forum, are successively twined around his brow. Al- 
 veady he is hailed as the second Chief Magistrate of the United States. But 
 stop, vain man I Thy intellectual course is run ! Thou art doomed not to 
 ascend, another round of fame's unstable ladder ! In the eagerness of thv 
 ascent, thou hast forgotten to examine thy foothold, and now, the round on 
 which thou standestis bending and cracking beneath thee ! Bntsee ! he 
 attempts another ! The effort is too great — the round gives way — the shock 
 carries with it the next, and the next, and yet the next, and, continuing to 
 descend with accelerated impetus, in the twinkling of an eye, Aaron Burr 
 lies prostrate at the bottom; the dishonored of his country, the despised of" 
 men, the neglected of Heaven ! 
 
 His was a masterly mind ; and he used it as the keen resistless weapon.; 
 with which his passions hewed a way to conquest. That weapon was Rrote- 
 an. But few could escape its ever-changing attack. The light of his sharp- 
 and penetrating eye resembled the lightning imprisoned and forever playing- 
 in a cloud as black as night ; if anyone came under its gaze, he w r as lost.. 
 And he continued thus., Age is expected to subdue : but with Burr, the 
 winter of time brought no snows to cool the lava of passion. At fourseater- 
 and six, the crater wore a glow as ardent as at twenty. His faculties- mock,- 
 ed at a century. In cunnings an Iago, in lust a Yarquin, in patience a.Catav 
 line, in pleasure a Sybarite, in gratitude a Malay, and in ambition an Alexr 
 ander, Aaron Burr affords the world an awful example of a powerful intel- 
 lect, destitute of virtue. 
 
 Compare with, this specimen of learned depravity, George Washington, 
 and behold !. how great the disparity,, how infinite the distance between 
 them ! And yet in those faculties and attainments which are purely intel- 
 lectual, Aaron Burr was, perhaps,.as tar superior to Washington^ asWashing- 
 ton. was superior to Burr, in all that dignifies and enobles human nature, when 
 man is viewed through the medium of his moral responsibilities. It was the 
 expansion, of the moral principle that rendered Washington.snpevior to Burr; 
 for true greatness cannot exist unless there be a sympathy between the in- 
 tellect and. the heart. All his actions, in every position which he occupied, 
 whether a citizen^general or President,, were under the influence of a high- 
 toned morality, so that he received. the wellrdeserved appellation of the "Fa- 
 ther of his Country : n and it was justly said of him that lie was " first in 
 war, first in peace and first in- the- hearts of 'his countrymen."' Irs intellectu- 
 al endowments he had his superiors, but m bis mw»\ qualities he towered.. 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 15 
 
 above all his cotemporaries. He possessed a heart purified and expanded by 
 the best of educations — love to God and love to man. 
 
 In Washington you have a noble example of what a sound intellect, and 
 a moderate share of human intelligence, can achieve, when. united with vast 
 moral attainments. In. Burr you have a fair specimen of what is generally 
 the end of splendid intellect and great intellectual acquirement, unrestrained 
 and unsanctified by the development of the purer and nobler faculties of our 
 moral nature. May we all emulate the virtues of the one, and shun the vi- 
 ces of the other. 
 
 The position is no less true in a social and rational point of view. Indi- 
 viduals compose the mass and the mass governs the community in a repub- 
 lican form of government It is then very readily seen what weight and 
 influence the union of intellectual and moral training must have upon the so- 
 cial system and the foundation of our nationality ; and how detrimental 
 it must be to social and national happiness wherever and whenever they are 
 separated, and the mere mind is permitted to gain the ascendency, and rea- 
 son is suffered to lord it over conscience. 
 
 The history of France during that bloody revolution, is a forcible exam- 
 ple of this truth. At no period of her national history did she possess so, 
 great an amount of intelligence; and perhaps no country could boast of such 
 an array of intellectual giants. But forgetting her dependence upon the- 
 Ruler of all nations, and confiding in the wisdow and intelligence of puny 
 man, France launched her ship of State without moral chart or compass, on, 
 the ocean of mind,'and despite all the exertions of intellect, all the achieve- 
 ments of genius, and all the beacons erected by Reason, and Philosophy,—- 
 she was irrevocably doomed to sink amid waves of human blood and alii 
 for want of moral culture to warm, expand and illumine the hearts of her 
 sons and daughters. Let us profit by her example. And while we deprecate 
 any attempt at uniting Church and State, let us not forget that Religion: is 
 the salt of the earth. Let us as sons of America, truly appreciate the bless- 
 ings and privileges we erjoy as citizens of this mighty republic, but let us 
 remember, that in order to perpetuate our liberties and secure them to our 
 children and children's children, we must let the stream of Religion flow 
 .along paralel with the stream of intelligence. In this respect the views of 
 the early colonists^, and the views of the Patriots of ,f J^ were in advance of " 
 those of the leading men of Europe : that if all the citizens were rightly (mor- 
 ally and intellectually) educated, they could govern and take care of them— 
 selves, and save the expenses of kingships and nobilities. They reasoned, 
 correctly. Our republic proves it 
 
 The public will directs the policy of our government.. IkiQpeople rule, by 
 tho sovereign thoughts of the masses.. How important, then, that those- 
 thoughts should emanate from.au intelligent and moral miad, and a highly 
 -cultivated judgment. This h the very palladium. of our liberty. It is the 
 sheet anchor of our republican, institutions,. I think I may safely prophesy, 
 that as loag as the people of these United States are made intelligent bv 
 proper mental training, and elevated in the scale of morality, by a, correspon- 
 ding degree of religious culture, so long will our civil and religious- liberties, 
 be safe against internal strife and external aggression. 
 
 And where, I ask, is the citizen who loves his country and watches over, 
 
16 
 
 INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 her liberties with a jealous eye, (as every true American ought to do,) — 
 where is that citizen that can — that dare call this position untenable ? k -To 
 disconnect intellectual and moral education, is nothing short of an infidel in- 
 novation ! What ! separate relic/ ion and education ! How absurd, since 
 the former is the perfection of the latter. Separate Religion and education f 
 Yon at once mar its whole beauty, and entirely destroy its importance. Sep- 
 arate Religion and Education ! You at orce blot the sun from the whole 
 system, and enshroud us all in the horrors of Pagan darkness. Separate 
 Religion and Education !■ — you open the flood-gates of vice upon us, and re- 
 act the tragical scenes of revolutionary France, in our beloved country. Sep* 
 cerate Religion and Education ! — and you separate that which God has join- 
 ed together, and openly oppose his moral government over the world of mind. 
 
 No, we can never accomplish the end of our being until heaven-born re- 
 ligion by her sacred touch and holy fire, has imparted her hallowed influ- 
 ence to the mental powers and intellectual acquisitions. Intellectual devel- 
 opment and moral culture must be blended. " Wherefore, what God has 
 jo ined together, let no man put asunder." 
 
 * 
 
Date Due 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 }n_ < 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 t'oaxn 335— U-..— u-^U — ;> 
 

 N.C. 370 # 4 Z99B 
 
 v # 3 n.1-12 
 
 
 
 372424 
 
 f 
 
 N.C. Paat>hlets_ 
 
 
 
 Miscellaneous 
 
 
 1 1SSU/ED TO 
 
 N.C. 370.4 2 ©9B v.2 n.1-12 
 
 572424